Morphologic Changes in Rat Retina After Massive Exchange Transfusion with 7% (Crystallized) Stroma-Free Hemoglobin Solution

摘要

Retinal morphology serves as an extremely sensitive endpoint to hypoxic and ischemic conditions manifested by circulatory perturbations. Therefore, the effect of massive transfusion of stroma-free hemoglobin solution (SFHS) on retinal morphology of rats was evaluated. Seventy- three rats were divided into three groups. Two groups were transfused to 75% blood volume replacement-- one (n = 30) with 7% SFHS; one (n = 26) with 7% albumin solution; and the third group (n = 17) was cannulated, not transfused (controls). Animals in each group were killed at 1, 5, 12, 24 hr and 2 mo after the procedure. In the transfused rats, focal and perivascular regions of edema, axonal swelling, and vacuoles were observed by light and transmission electron microscopy in the nerve fiber layer of the central retina. These conditions progressively decreased from 1 to 12 hr in the albumin-treated group. The retinas of SFHS-treated rats killed at 12 and 24 hr had similar but more severe morphologic changes than any of the albumin-treated animals; swelling was more severe in those retinas obtained at 24 than at 12 hr, while vacuoles were larger in animals obtained at 12 hr.